Global wine consumption sees a small rise in 2010; top 12 countries

In contrast to global vineyard area and wine production, that declined, global wine consumption saw a slight increase in 2010, inching marginally up to 238 million hectolitres. World consumption peaked in 2007 at around 250 Mhl, declined substantially in 2008 and 2009. But this declined was stopped in 2010 when the consumption essentially levelled out.

Vineyard in the Loire Valley, copyright BKWine Photography

The Old World is by far the biggest consumer, accounting for 65% of the total, but its importance have declined (7 percentage points over 15 years):

Europe: 65%

Americas: 22%

Asia: 7.9%

Africa: 2.9%

Oceania: 2.7%

There are dramatic differences in consumer patterns in different parts of the world:

The traditional big producers and consumers have declining consumption: France, Italy and Spain have seen the consumption drop radically.

The big growth markets are the USA, China, Australia, Russia and (curiously) the UK (in the longer term).

The US passed Italy in 2006 (both countries drank 27 Mhl that year) and looks likely to overtake France as the biggest consumer if the trends continue.